I've taken a lot of flack from friends (who see me as a "movie snob") for loudly and enthusiastically recommending the original Charlie's Angels. See, I adore quick-cut movie trailers and mega-edited action scenes and colorful rock videos, and the original Angels adventure delivered all that, a bag of chips, and a whole lot of wholesome feminine curves. The sequel takes everything from the first film, blows it up to exponentially sillier proportions and sits back, content just to posture smokily. Odd as it sounds, considering how overblown the original movie was, less would have been more. And since we have returning superstar Demi on board, I suppose a more accurate comment would be "Less is Moore".

If the first Charlie's Angels was silly and loud and borderline retarded, then Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle is little more than Lunacy Redefined. All the requisite bangs and pows and cracks and whips and ass-cheeks are present and accounted for. But the first film managed to wedge a paper-thin (yet noticable) plot in between the set pieces.

The sequel is quite literally ALL set pieces.

And only a few of 'em really work.

Not content to simply ride roughshod over concepts as antiquated as "plot", "cohesive storytelling" and "physics", Full Throttle plows along in surreal fashion - resembling not much more than a series of Live Action Looney Tunes. The threadbare plot dusts off that reliable old "computer files full of relocated government witnesses" chestnut and then promptly begins ignoring it.

Each scene in the film seems to begin with a 15-second recap of some stand-alone plot point before it gets down to the nitty of the gritty: Cameron Diaz, Lucy Liu and Drew Barrymore baring shaking their asses and lifting their cleavage. It's all very sexy in a prefabricated sort of way. Then we're treated to some random event: a slappy fistfight, an out-of-place dance scene, more jiggles & giggles, etc., etc.

But (and I guess this holds true for most sequels) the magic is gone. Or if not gone, let's just say it's hidden beneath massive paydays and overwhelming vanity. (And let's face it: self-love with a smirk is still self-love.) During the first Charlie's Angels I actually felt some jolts from the action scenes. Nothing in the sequel even comes close to the kinetic enjoyability of the original entry's "Alleyway Brawl".

Bill Murray opted to bow out, so we now get Bernie Mac. Demi Moore is hoping to ride her presence here into a full-blown Hollywood comeback. One of the original TV Angels shows up for an arcane cameo, as do the likes of The Olsen Twins, Pink and Bruce Willis (the former Mr. Demi Moore (!) ) - to no discernable impact. That John Cleese, easily one of this planet's funniest people, is brought on board for precisely ONE extended joke (one that seems culled from some old Three's Company script) is a fairly clear indication of how many plates this flick tries to spin at once.

In other words: a whole lot of sound and fury...signifying not much more than another cookie-cutter sequel. Yet every time I feel like thrashing this movie for the paint-by-numbers project it clearly is...I recall a witty moment that made me smirk or a brief adrenalin rush I got during a second act Warehouse Brawl.

So while Part 1 was content to simply infuse macho action with a joyous sense of Girl Power, the follow-up is more of a circus sideshow; we get endless movie references and homages, pointless movie-star cameos ad nauseum, and a palpable onscreen sense of everyone showing up for the money. Yeah, the gals sure seem to have a lot of fun working together, but they only share that glee with the audience on an intermittent basis.

If the first flick was a surprisingly delicious Happy Meal, this one's a batch of leftovers. And if you've ever tried to microwave a leftover McDonald's cheeseburger, you know it doesn't really taste all that great. Edible, sure. Satisfying, not so much.

So while there's certainly a healthy handful of fun to be had (especially for fans of the original farce), Full Throttle is decidedly less loose and clearly less fresh - and no amount of product placement and gimmick cameos is going to change that. All that aside: the girls are pretty, the karate chops crack loudly, and the explosions are still fun to look at. Guess I'm a sucker for three pretty faces and six omni-present hooters.